AppliedAI's $55 million Series A round oversubscribed
New funding to drive Abu Dhabi-based enterprise AI startup's regional expansion
#UAE #funding - Dubai-based Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) has invested in Abu Dhabi AI company AppliedAI's oversubscribed $55 million Series A funding round, joining AI powerhouse G42, Silicon Valley investor Bessemer Venture Partners, and UAE telecom and technology group e&. AppliedAI's enterprise-grade automation platform Opus transforms back-office operations for highly regulated sectors such as financial services, healthcare, and government. Launched in December, Opus is powered by a first-of-its-kind Large Work Model (LWM) and AppliedAI’s proprietary Work Knowledge Graph (WKG).
According to MEVP, the funding will accelerate AppliedAI’s international expansion while strengthening product capabilities and regional market presence.
SO WHAT? - Despite the UAE's emergence as a global AI hub with homegrown venture capital backing, many AI startups have struggled to secure venture capital funding. Two key factors affecting funding have been investor knowledge, as regional funds and investors have found it difficult to validate AI concepts, the choice of high-quality AI investments on offer and the limited of number of new ventures making it to Series A rounds. This situation has been changing over the past 18 months and AppliedAI’s successful $55 million rise is proof that the region is ready to back significant AI startup opportunities and the capital is there.
Here are some key points about AppliedAI’s new raise:
Abu Dhabi-based AppliedAI has closed an oversubscribed $55 million Series A round with participation from Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), G42, Bessemer Venture Partners, and e&.
The funding round was originally announced in February, with MEVP subsequently joining other investors later.
The Abu Dhabi-based company's Opus GenAI platform automates complex workflows in regulated industries such as financial services, healthcare, and government sectors across the Middle East.
Opus is powered by a first-of-its-kind Large Work Model (LWM) and a proprietary Work Knowledge Graph (WKG). The LWM has been built with different versions to handled both complex use cases and optimal efficiency, depending on the priority.
AppliedAI targets highly regulated industries requiring enterprise-grade solutions for critical digitisation and automation requirements
The Series A funding will support international expansion whilst strengthening product development capabilities and regional market penetration strategies
AppliedAI relocated headquarters from London to Abu Dhabi in 2022, establishing partnerships within the UAE's expanding AI ecosystem
The investment combines regional expertise from MEVP and G42 with international venture capital experience from Bessemer Venture Partners
Meanwhile, strategic partner e& brings telecommunications and digital infrastructure capabilities to support AppliedAI's growth trajectory
ZOOM OUT - One of the the Middle East and North Africa venture capital pioneers, MEVP has launched four technology-focused funds and now has over $300 million in assets under management and $1.6 billion in co-investments. The firm's 21 investment professionals have backed more than 60 portfolio companies across MENA, Sub-Saharan Africa, Pakistan, and Turkey. MEVP launched its fourth fund in 2023, Middle East Venture Fund IV (MEVF IV), targeting $150 million with the European Investment Bank anchoring a $27 million commitment. MEVF IV focuses on healthcare, consumer, education, food security, real estate, fintech, B2B, and artificial intelligence sectors across MENA.
[Written and edited with the assistance of AI]
Read more about AppliedAI:
AppliedAI announces Large Work Model (Middle East AI News)